Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer and songwriter. He made his debut as a singer when he auditioned as a solo artist for the British television series The X Factor in 2008 with "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra. Though cut by Simon Cowell following judge's house, Payne was encouraged to audition again. He reauditioned as a solo artist in 2010, where he was put into a group along with four other contestants, to form the boy band that would later become known as One Direction.

Since joining One Direction, Payne, along with bandmates Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and former bandmate Zayn Malik, have released five commercially successful albums, performed on four worldwide tours, and won multiple awards, including two BRIT Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards. The group's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and has since sold over 5 million copies worldwide, making it among one the best-selling singles of all time. Payne has also appeared in television and film, including the Nickelodeon series iCarly and the concert film One Direction: This Is Us. The band is currently on an 18-month hiatus and is set to come back in june of 2017.

Payne has worked independently under the monikers "Big Payno" and "Payno" creating remixes for songs such as British pop singer Cheryl Cole's single "I Don't Care."